Material used in packaging products is often supplied to a packaging line in webs spooled on reels. At the packaging line, the web is severed into segments that are sequentially applied to packages as the latter pass down the line. The web often contains a repeating pattern, and severing occurs between separate patterns such that each severed segment contains the pattern located at a precise position on the segment. Thus, when a segment is applied to a package, it is aesthetically pleasing because every segment on every package has exactly the same appearance.
The depletion of a reel containing a patterned web supplied to high speed automatic packaging equipment requires the trailing edge of the web to be quickly and accurately spliced to the leading edge of a web contained in a replacement reel such that the pattern-pitch is maintained at the splice. Conventionally, a splice is achieved by manually applying to the joint between the webs, a strip of tape having an adhesive on one surface. The problem with this conventional approach is two fold: (1) the manual nature of the splice requires constant supervision of the status of the reel in use and the presence of a worker to effect the splice when needed; and (2) the presence of a pattern on the web requires careful cutting by a worker of the trailing end of the exhausted web and the leading end of the replacement web so that the patterns match. Often, the solution to these problems requires the packaging line to be shut down while a splice is effected in order to ensure that a proper splice is made and the pattern in the replacement web is properly located relative to the pattern in the exhausted web.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved apparatus for ameliorating the problems found in the prior art as discussed above by providing an automatic connection system that ensures a proper splice.